Outdoor

If you’re beginning to curse the magical mist of San Francisco, we understand. This is California, people. Sheesh! Where’s the sunshine? We know our fairytale fog can start to feel comedic or even tragic after a while. So if you’re getting a hankering for heat, we suggest you head over to the East Bay for a hike in the sun. Check out East Bay Parks for many great ideas.

Visitors often arrive to the Golden Gate City with visions of lovely Lombard Street, its steep hairpin turns dominating the mind’s eye. Navigating newcomers can be surprised by less-than-foot-friendly mini mountains to summit on their tours. But here’s the skinny on those hills: they’ll lead you to dozens of vistas all across the city, many with 360-degree panoramas. Locals pay millions for postcard-perfect picture windows to get these same views, but you don’t have to.

Every great trip needs an awesome soundtrack. But sometimes, the perfect soundtrack can actually be the jumping-off point for a great trip. So today, we're composing a "playlist as itinerary" for travelers in Northern California. From enduring classics, to forgotten favorites, to modern musical postcards, cue up these songs on Spotify and let the music take you away.

Ever hear the old saying that life's about the journey, not a destination? Out here in Northern California, we tend to take it a step further: Here, sometimes the journey is the destination. Transit time in our lovely region isn't just a way of getting from Point A to Point B – it's an eye-opener in and of itself. Just ask anyone who's ever taken a bicycle tour, big or small, around our neck of the woods!